A make-believe elephant with bandages and a pinkish head wound made some parents angry, but Ellie the elephant also got hugs and at least one-high five from students leaving Mitchell Elementary on Tuesday afternoon. ...more

December 9, 2009

A make-believe elephant, with bandages and a pinkish head wound, made some parents angry, but Ellie the elephant also got some hugs and at least one-high five from students leaving Mitchell Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. The bloodied "elephant" is part of a campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to boycott circuses. The animal rights group Tuesday sent a press release announcing that Ellie would hand out a comic, "An Elephant's Life," and coloring book, "Animals Belong in the Jungle," to children and parents as school ended for the day. ...more

December 8, 2009

Animal rights activists asked a federal judge Wednesday to find that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus violates the Endangered Species Act by using metal-tipped prods and chains to control its elephants. ...more

March 18, 2009

The head of the company that owns the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus acknowledged in federal court Wednesday that all his elephant handlers strike the animals with metal-tipped prods, but he said it's necessary to keep the huge animals under control and doesn't harm them. ...more

March 3, 2009

One of the most iconic images of American life, that of circus elephants joined trunk-to-tail as they lumber along to delight "children of all ages," as the old saying goes, is about to be debated in a courtroom. ...more

February 4, 2009

Clowns from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus juggled their schedules to visit pediatric patients in Tampa General Hospital's Children's Medical Center on Jan. 8. The clowns stopped by for a few hours before performing at the TGH Foundation's annual "Night at the Circus" fundraiser, which benefited the NICU. ...more

January 28, 2009

While the Ringling Bros. Circus left town earlier in the week, a different three-ring act rolled into town Thursday. ...more

January 16, 2009

Downtown Tampa motorists could be forgiven for doing a double-take Monday afternoon. ...more

January 6, 2009

THEATER Week Ahead "Cats": musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T. S. Eliot; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Jan. 11; $30 to $59; Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg; (727) 892-5716 ...more

January 4, 2009

Puppetry expresses the human condition with a kind of visual magic. It can be as powerful to the eye as music is to the ear. ...more

December 28, 2008